


ssenevigroF dna ecnatpeccA

by Omeyrolx_theChessmaster (Chessmaster_Omeyrolx)



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: (especially the second one), ..."observe how normal and abnormal students react to being in the same class", AU, Alternate Universe - No Despair, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hajime being with the rest of the SDR2 class to..., M/M, Minor scene of violence, New friendship turned romance, Present bullying, Rare Pairings, Sad Backstories, Serious first two chapters, Threesome, implied attempted rape, past bullying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-01
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-04-02 10:29:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4056682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chessmaster_Omeyrolx/pseuds/Omeyrolx_theChessmaster
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The two most sweetest characters of the first two main Danganronpa games now together, with you in the middle!<br/>Constructive criticism is appreciated, but not necessary.</p>
<p>Note: For the sake of convenience, you will be given the Japanese alias of "Yuuto Kenta", while your real name will be Y/F/N (Your first name) Y/L/N (Your last name) and Y/F/A/L/N (Your first and last name) when mentioned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoy reading!

POV:  
\--“Yuuto Kenta”--

“Nggh, why does my laundry smell like those weird, turkey-scented bagels Nagito eats?” I say to myself as I drop my clothes into a washer at the school laundromat. It’s been a few weeks since me and my family moved to Japan, and I’ll be honest, it wasn’t that easy for me at first. With my parents always going from country to country to look for better jobs, I always thought we’re going to immediately move somewhere else, like Greece, maybe. This is the first time in a while we’ve actually stayed in the same place and home for more than a couple of days, though I guess it’s because of my talent making us stay here in Japan.

During our “visit” here, I was offered an invitation to a high school called “Hope’s Peak Academy”. Apparently, it’s a school where the talents of several students are “cultivated and researched”; teenage prodigies who are the best of the best are the only ones who would be accepted to such a place. Or so I’ve heard. To be honest, I was a bit skeptical such a school even existed, and afterwards, nervous about they wanting me there as Y/F/A/L/N, the “Ultimate Translator”. (Hey, you pick up on some things while always abroad.) Giving me the Japanese name “Yuuto Kenta”, or Ken, to help me fit in, my parents promised me that they would stop moving me and my siblings place to place all the time to give me a chance at this academy. “Graduation at Hope’s Peak Academy guarantees success in life”. I don’t usually believe in rumors, but my parents were apparently a different story.

As I contemplate the time when I got the invitation, with my laundry swirling and swishing around in the machine, I notice a gleam in the bottom corner of my eye. I look down to find a student e-handbook mostly covered in the shadow of the table I sat my laundry basket on. The one corner of the handbook that was exposed seems to have reflected some light back at me. Picking it up, I think about how a student’s handbook is used to start up the washers and dryers in this room, among several other things that can be done in the school. Whoever owned this handbook must have forgotten it when they came here, and it fell on the floor then gotten kicked under the table.

I turn on the newly-required device in my hands and I immediately see someone’s name: Chihiro Fujisaki. I recognized her name almost instantly; she was the short girl who was called the “Ultimate Programmer” in the class right below mine. Chihiro always looked so nervous around others, so I was kind of nervous to talk to her myself whenever I felt I had the chance to. I wanted to try to be friends with her, but haven’t gotten lucky so far. Guess she was here earlie—".............H-huh?” I had to be sure I read that right. These handbooks display most of a student’s basic information. Your name (your real one, of course), your “Ultimate” title, your gender, height, weight, and even chest size(?) are all listed on your own personal device, to properly identify you. But as I took a mindless and quick glance at Chihiro’s handbook, her gender profile read……"male".

Was it a glitch? No, no the school wouldn’t make such buggy electronics. Was it an oversight? No, the gender on your handbook decides what locker room you could go in. Why would the academy make such an obvious error? Unless, the gender profile here…ISN’T an error, but rather, the truth. Is Chihiro a guy? Then again, it made sense, she, er, he, always seemed more nervous talking to girls than guys, and whenever our two classes had gym together, he would be a little late, saying he changed in his room. Why wouldn’t he just change in the girl’s locker room? It was because he wasn’t a she at all.

Suddenly, I heard the room’s doorknob turning from behind me, and I quickly shoved Chihiro’s ID into my sweater pocket. “Oh, hey Ken!” said a voice I know quite well. “Hey Nagito, how’re you?” “Amazing, thank you very much for asking!” responded Nagito to my greeting. “Me, Hajime and Chiaki were playing video games and helping each other with homework.” Of course. Those three are pretty much inseparable, huh? “Anything else?” I say with a perverted smirk on my face. I heard there were betting pools of either Hajime and Chiaki hitting it off, Hajime and Nagito hitting it off, or an all-out three-way relationship, with how much time they spend in each other’s dormitory rooms. “Well, I just got done sucking Hajime’s member and Chiaki’s nipples, if that’s what you mean,” said Nagito, catching onto my joke. I let out a humored and heartfelt “ha!” as he joins me in washing our clothes.

However, I’m still reeling a little bit from my earlier discovery. Why would Chihiro pretend to be a girl? How long as he been doing this? “You doing alright?” said a concerned Nagito. I realize that my load was done and that I’ve had my jaw opened a bit in thought. “Err, it’s nothing,” I explain, “I just sort of, dozed off, y’know?” I flash him my usual half-grin to make me look as casual as I normally do. Thankfully, it looks like Nagito believed me. “Haha, yeah, this can be a bit of a bore, right? Kind of like trash like m--” “Nagito.” I cut him off short. Me and Hajime, a friend of mine and a reserve course student chosen to be transferred to our class for a “test”, found out that Nagito had cases of malignant lymphoma and frontotemporal dementia, a “few” of the “side-effects” caused by his talent, which itself has been putting him through hell and back since his parents died in a plane incident. He claims to have been so burnt out on life that he just wanted to die “for the sake of anyone’s hope”, so lately we’ve been practically forcing him to take medication and therapy. The treatment’s been good, but I guess there’s still a way’s away. “Oh, r-right, sorry…” Nagito realized what I was doing, and stopped talking. After a bit of an awkward silence, I take my load out to put the next one in. I’d definitely have to remember to return Chihiro’s handbook next time I see her, um, him. Maybe I can find him in the school’s programming room, hopefully I won’t have to tell him I know his real gender, it might make him freak out.

POV:  
\--Chihiro Fujisaki--

“Thank you so much, Taka!” I said to Kiyotaka Ishimaru, the Ultimate Moral Compass and the school’s prefect. “No need to thank me, Chihiro! I will personally see fit that you are not marked absent for our afternoon classes!” Taka then marched out of the school programming room, leaving me to my laptop during lunch period. As the Ultimate Programmer, I wanted to work on a special project of mine that I’ve started a while back, an AI with emotions and a personality based on its creator, an “Alter Ego”, if you will. I was hoping not to be marked absent as I wanted to do this kind of work as it’s based on my talent, which this school’s reason for existing, to improve our talents. Taka was the second friend I made when I started school here, after Makoto Naegi. It was a bit hard at first, what with me being one of the smallest students in the class and everyone else looking so big, but after I made friends with Makoto, he introduced me to the other friends he made, and they quickly became my friends too! Though, the hardest part for me about all of this, was my secret.

To most of the school, I’m known as a girl, when I’m really a boy wearing a dress. When I was really young, I was always picked on and bullied for my personality. “Be a man!” “You’re so weak, even though you’re a boy!” Time and time again I heard words like that. So, when I transferred to a new school before going to Hope’s Peak Academy, I decide to pretend to everyone that I was female. “Now no one can tell me to be a man anymore…” Eventually, though, the guilt of hiding who I really was began to gnaw at my insides, and had conflicting feelings about either keeping my secret until high school graduation, or coming out and possibly be ridiculed even more than I was before. Now, a handful of my classmates know the truth, and are doing their best to keep it under wraps until I’m ready.

“’Ey, kid!” A voice caught my attention, as the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader, Mondo Oowada, sat down beside me on a nearby chair and gave me a light pat on the back. “O-oh, hello Mondo!” I said with a smile on my face. Despite his title, Mondo’s really a sweet and caring guy. He was actually the first person I told my secret to, after he accidentally said a secret to me, so I could calm him down about it. “Bro told me you were playin’ hooky for the rest of the day. Mind if I join ya?” “Er, no,” I tried to explain, “it’s to work on my project I told you about, sorry.” I feel a bit bad, because I know Mondo is very protective of me and likes to hang out with me. Since he shoulders his very deep and personal secret, Mondo always does his best to live up to the promises he makes because of it, like keeping MY secret, which is why he’s always looking out for me.

“Aww c’mon Chi, you’ve been working on that thing since fucking forever, why don’t you take a break from it?” he said, lightly patting my upper back. Smiling at Mondo’s concern for me, I answer “No, no it’s alright. I’m getting close to finishing it anyway.” “A’ight, I get it. Since yer in the home stretch, y’might as well go all the way, huh?” said Mondo, rubbing the back of his neck. “Y-yeah, again, I’m sorry…” I said while feeling bad about turning him down. “Er nono, I get it!” said Mondo, who was worried about me worrying about his feelings. “Y’know yer not the kind of person who wouldn’t want to hurt someone, so ya don’t need to apologi—” “Excuse me?” The voice just got both of our attentions as we turn to look at a student walking towards to us. “You’re Chihiro Fujisaki, right?” he asks, as he comes to a stop next to us and gestures at me.

I think I’ve seen him around the school, yeah, he’s in the class above mine and Mondo’s. I’d see his face when our classes had gym together. Mondo immediately got up from beside me to face the student. Though this guy is about a year older than us, Mondo is the second tallest student in our class, and easily stood what seemed to be only a few inches above the student. The student, understandably, looked like he was taken back a little, what with Mondo looking a bit intimidating, but then soon regained his composure. “Y-yeah?” I answer, a bit nervous about someone I knew nothing about saying may name, and the student reached into his sweater pocket to pull out something. It was an e-handbook.

“Found this in the laundry room” said the student, as he handed it to me with a friendly half-grin on his face. Then I realize it was MY handbook! I quickly patted my pockets as I remembered leaving it on the room’s table and was too distracted by talking to Sakura Oogami to remember it! I let out a sigh of relief as I heartily took back my handbook. “Oh, thank you!” I cry. “I can’t believe I forgot about the only thing I really needed at this schoo—” I stop myself. He would have had to turn on the book to see if it was mine. That would mean he could have seen my profile. The profile that stated my real gender. The color drained from my face as my relief made a 180 into fear. “A-AHHHHH!!”

The student and Mondo both started to have shocked expressions from my outburst. “K-Kid, you a’right!?” said Mondo as he knelt down and gently put his hand on my shoulder. No, no I wasn’t -alright. This student, this STRANGER, knew my secret. What if he told someone else about it? What if he already took photographic evidence of my handbook to show off my gender? “A-Are you okay?” The student’s voice broke me out of my trance. “Is there something wrong? I can go get a teacher if there’s—” “N-NO!” I shouted, and the student turned back to face me from walking out of the room. Both he and Mondo stared at me again, and being overcome with worry and fear, I tried to find out the truth without looking at him, even though I already knew he knew. “Did…” I struggled to speak. “D-did you see it?”

Immediately, Mondo’s eyes shoot out, open, wide and bulging, as he figured out what I was so scared about. His face turned into anger as he stood up and shot over to the student to grab him by his collar. “YOU LITTLE, WHO TH’ FUCK’D YOU TELL!?” I immediately whipped my head towards the two. The student had complete fear spread across his face, and said “I-I didn’t tell anyone, I swear!” If I don’t do something, Mondo’s going to kill this guy! “Please, w-wait Mondo!” I yelled out, and Mondo’s face had instantly softened, and after an awkward pause, let go his grip on the student. “Th’ hell you gonna do now?” said Mondo to the student, who let out a sigh in anxiety.

“L-look…” he starts to say, while Mondo had a stern look on his face. “I have no intention of telling anyone, okay? I’ve seen how you interact with others, so I’m fairly sure it would pretty much break you AND make me look like a monster at the same time if I told anyone. Besides…” He gestures to Mondo with that same friendly half-grin from before. “… he would obviously rip my spine out and jam it through my pee-hole if a spoke a word. Heheh…hah…” I couldn’t help but giggle at that a little, and a smile broke out on my face, part of my worry gone. Mondo had also grown a small grin at his remark and said “Heh, yeah, I probably would’ve done that right now if Chi hadn’t stopped me.” The student regained his composure again and stood up straight. “Look, you guys are probably suspicious of my intentions…” That, I can’t completely deny. “…so why don’t I introduce myself, to help us get to know each other?” He extends a hand out to us with his signature expression (his grin) making a comeback. “My name’s Y/F/A/L/N, but since my parents thought giving me a Japanese name would help me "fit in", feel free to call me Ken, as in Yuuto Kenta.”

After Ken, Mondo and I talked a little about ourselves, mostly Ken to let him earn our trust, my stress had gone down back to having almost none at all. Ken’s actually a really nice guy, kind of like Mondo, and swore to keep quiet about my secret. He even said that he’d been meaning to ask about being friends with me for a while, but always had cold feet, which did explain the weird glances at my direction he gave me from time to time. I couldn’t help but have a very small blush on my face, and noticing it, Mondo shot an “annoyed and jealous” look at Ken to mess with him, which worked, and the three of us had a good laugh over it. I didn’t know how, but I knew I could trust Ken, my new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you got the joke I made at the beginning about Nagito's "turkey bagels", you are awesome! If you didn't, don't worry, you're still really cool!


	2. Care

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I break my own heart about halfway though this chapter...

POV:  
\--“Yuuto Kenta”--

After school I decide walk around for a bit. Talking and making friends with Chihiro and Mondo had me asked if knew how big the school building was like. I’ve never actually got a good look around this place, I just always went to the rooms my classes were in, the cafeteria, the laundry room and my own dormitory room. Usually me and one of my friends would hang out either in the cafeteria, or if there’s no tables available, either in our main classroom or my dormitory room, and we never really decide to hang out anywhere else. Guess we never really thought about it, with us usually having a lot of fun talking and even trying out clubs together, and even then I never paid attention to my surroundings when trying to find a room a club was in. Always traveling around the world must’ve made me not care about the visuals of a place I would be in for only a few days, so they’ve convinced to take a look around, which I was hesitant about at first, but it was actually very refreshing to really take notice of what was around me for a change. Then I remember I agreed to hang out with Nagito at the school recreation room in an hour, so now I guess I have to make sure I don’t get too carried away. 

“Ah, Y/F/N!” I heard my real name being called and I turn my head straight to see my classmate Sonia Nevermind, the “Ultimate Princess” (yes, she IS actual royalty) waving her hand around to get my attention. “Oh hey, Sonia!” I exclaim as I reach her. Since Sonia’s a cultural exchange student, and therefore non-Japanese, she prefers to use my real name. I don’t mind it too much though, since we’re on good terms and found that we got along more easily than I thought we would, because, according to her, “I feel much more comfortable knowing there is someone like me here, a foreign chosen to be a Japanese school’s student!”. “How have you been, Your Majesty?” I ask her as I slightly bend over and put my arm across chest to perform a sort of bow. “Oh come now, Y/F/N,” says Sonia with a gentle smile on her face, “you know full well that no one here has to be so formal with me.” I straighten up and smile at her myself. “Heh, I know, just trying not to be rude.” “However,” said Sonia, “I have been doing very well, thank you very much for asking!”  
Sonia then makes a look of worry and concern. “Um, you are aware of our classmate Mikan Tsumiki, correct?” she asks. “Yeah,” I reply, “she’s the “Ultimate Nurse”, right?” “Yes,” confirmed Sonia, “I had made plans to discuss our class project with her, but she has not shown up. I am growing rather worried as a result. Have you by chance seen her?” “Didja check the Nurse’s Office?” I ask. “Of course, even the people there say they haven’t seen Mikan either, especially as of late. “Huh…” I ponder Sonia’s question. An “Ultimate Nurse” not visiting the school’s medical room for a while? It’s a bit weird if you ask me.

“Hmm, she doesn’t seem like the kind of person to NOT live up to a promise, especially when it’s to a literal princess. I’m taking a tour around the school, so if I bump into her, I can mention you.” “Ah, thank you!” Sonia’s face then showed its smile from before, only much more radiant and cheerful. “Operation: Scavenger can now commence!” “Er, right…” I sigh inward, sometimes she says things you normally wouldn’t expect a princess to say, maybe even a “hells yeah” every now and then. It must be Sonia’s way of “fitting in”, like me and my Japanese name. It’s funny, Mikan seems like the only student more worried and anxious than Chihiro, always crying and apologizing over a lot of things, even over situations that weren’t her fault to begin with. She seemed so nervous and fragile, that I was worried a light breeze might be enough to overwhelm her and make her upset. It doesn’t really make sense for her to break a promise like this. Maybe I can find her before I have to live up to MY promise that I made to Nagito.

A little while later, I mindless end up on the fifth floor of the academy, and realize that it’s a minute before my deadline with Nagito. “Crap, guess I better head back.” Shame I didn’t see Mikan, but I’m sure Sonia’s found her by now. It’s Nagito I’m worried about right now, if I don’t show up soon, he might think I don’t care about him anymore. As I run off, I suddenly hear a faint voice. “Hah, what’s wrong you fat cow? I thought you like this kind of thing!” Wh-What the? I stopped short to make sure I wasn’t hearing thing. I then picked up my pace to where I felt the voice came from, while hearing other sentences such as, “Hey, stop bleeding when we don’t want you to!”, “We didn’t give you permission to cry!”, “Wow, what a bitch!”, “Oh don’t worry, you’ll feel MUCH better soon!”, “Man, what a nice bode there!”—Okay, I have to hurry the hell up before my sick, twisted assumptions are confirmed!

Sprinting to a halt at a classroom, I tried to open the door before finding out it was locked. I call out “Is there anyone in there?”, and on the other side of the walls I could hear voices of all sorts. “What the hell!? I thought you said no clubs or teachers were supposed to be on this floor!” “Th-there shouldn’t be! I made sure that no one else was up here and that the cameras needed repairs!” Ooh boy, now I DEFINETLY know what’s going on! C’mon, Y/L/N, hurry up! If I can just get a glimpse of their faces…With no time to follow school rules or find a teacher, since they said no one else was on this floor, I lift up my foot to bring it down onto the door handle several times until it finally breaks off. Sirens then sounded from the PA speakers and the monitors in the hall showed the school crest on a red background with warning icons and labels all over the screen.

A voice came from the PA, separate from the alarms. “WARNING: THERE HAS BEEN A BREACH ON THE 5TH FLOOR OF THE SCHOOL. STUDENTS ARE HIGHLY ADVISED TO STAY IN THEIR CURRENT ROOM OR THE NEAREST ROOM POSSIBLE WHILE FACULTY ARE TO CONTACT THE AUTHORITIES AND ASSESS THE SITUATION. REPEAT…” Oh right, they put emergency sensors on the doors in case of a break in. If a door handle is forced off without authorization, or a window if broken to pieces, everyone’s alerted of a possible criminal within the school walls. Of course, the only real criminals within this academy are behind this door!……Ech, that was pretty corny. Shaking my head, I quickly open up the door and found about six students scattered around the classroom, with a girl laying down on the floor, her mouth duct taped, her hands tied behind her back and being covered in bruises, cuts, and blood, with tears in her eyes and her clothing torn up. The other six students all wore the same uniform, it looks like the one Hajime used to wear when he was a reserve course student!

“Shit!” yelled one of the students. “C’mon guys, we’ve gotta get out of here!” shouted another. All of the reserve course students, a girl even dropping her phone, charged and pushed me out of their way, throwing me onto the floor of the hall. “You little bastard!” roared an angry and freaked out student as he was the first one to run off with the others following close behind. After shaking off the pain of the impact, I got up and ran back into the room to find the girl still lying down, weak. That’s when I realized it was Mikan, the student Sonia was supposed to meet with! “H-hold on,” I proclaim, “I’ll get you up!” Running over to her, I notice the phone that girl seemed to drop. I quickly pick it up to find it on its record function, and turned it off before I knelt down to untie Mikan’s hands and then rip the tape off of her mouth. With a wince, she slowly opens her watery eyes to meet mine.

POV:  
\--Mikan Tsumiki--

It’s horrible. All the students around me were laughing, teasing and hurting me, calling me names and insults before they were about to use me for pleasure. I was of course scared about it all, but if it keeps their attention on me, for me not to feel ignored and non-existent, even if it would cause me pain, I don’t mind. Almost nobody in my life would ever paid attention to me. Everyone always beat me up at school and at home, ever since I was very young, and the ones that didn’t always paid me no mind, so I figured out that only those bully me acknowledge my existence and, in a way, care for me, while the other people who didn’t bully me must not care about me.

I eventually learned how to take care of my injuries by myself because no one else would do it for me. It’s how I got accepted as the “Ultimate Nurse” here at Hope’s Peak Academy. Here, a few of the people were pretty much treating me like I’ve always been treated, but others weren’t doing that to me at all. They were giving me smiles, unlike the smiles from people who would bully me. They were actually being kind to me, saying hello and talking to me as if I “deserved to be treated like them”. They weren’t insulting me, kicking me, punching me, cutting my hair off, drawing on me, using my skin as an ashtray, making me imitate a sea turtle laying eggs, or anything else. I don’t understand. Those people, like in my class, didn’t do anything to me. Why weren’t they doing anything to me!? If they didn’t bother doing anything to me, it must mean their acts of kindness covered up their hate for me. If they hate me, and don’t acknowledge me, it must mean they don’t care about me! That’s right, it has to be it!

Well, at least I still had friends, the people who beat me up still care about me, right? Earlier today, we were given a project to work on with a partner, and a girl named Sonia asked to pair with me. I had my hopes built up. Maybe it was to create an opportunity to hurt me, and show me that she DID care about me! I could have another friend! She asked me to meet with her at the hall our dormitory rooms were in, and I was on my way there, until I was grabbed from behind and into a classroom. “Hey, you ready for the usual?” From behind me, there were the main group of reserve course students that would beat me up. One of them walked up next to me and locked the door. “O-oh, well,” I try to speak, “I actually already made plans to meet with someone else…I-I’m so sorry!” The student who grabbed me lets go and has a defiant look on his face. “Oh I get it,” he said, “you must not think we’re good enough for you anymore, right?!” I started to cry at his remark. “N-no! I don’t! It’s just, I—” “Don’t give us any damn excuses!” He raised his hand and slapped me in the face. “A-ahhh!” I fall onto the floor, the desks in the room pushed off to the sides, while I cried over the student’s anger.

A different boy from the group that now surrounded me spoke up. “If ya really want to stay with us, don’tcha think you should do anything to keep it that way!?” “I-I do, but—” “I thought you like hanging out with us,” said a girl who had her phone taken out of her pocket. “if you plan on leaving us, we may have to punish you!” The others took out a piece of rope and a roll of duct tape. “B-but I promised m-my new f-friend I’d m-meet up wh-with her!” I was sad. I didn’t want to ruin any chance of Sonia abusing me and hurting me! “O-oh don’t worry your pretty little head about it,” says the group’s leader as he pats my head and then grabs my unevenly cut hair to make me look at him. “Our punishment won’t last long.”

It all happens in what feels like a flash. I hear someone trying to open the classroom door and calling out for anyone in there. I hear the students stop insulting me and start yelling at each other. I hear the door handle being moved again and again until a crashing sound. I hear the school’s emergency sirens and message. I hear the door busting open and the students in the classroom yelling and running out, their footsteps soon being drowned out by the alarms. I hear the voice from outside of the room much more loudly and clearer, and felt my arms being untied and the duct tape taken off of my mouth. Wincing at the pain and sudden change of lighting in my eyes, someone takes my shoulders and sits me up on the floor. Opening my eyes, I see the worried but calm face of the one who sounded off the alarm. “It’s okay, you’re safe now.” His voice seems familiar, and I soon recognized him from my class. “K-Ken?” I ask. “Yeah, it’s Ken.” “W-Why d-did you s-stop them?” They were having so much fun, hurting me and abusing me. Now they probably hate me even more! “H-huh? What are you talking about?” Ken doesn’t seem to understand. I look downward at my own bruised legs feeling guilty. “I-I tried t-to l-leave them w-when they d-didn’t want me t-to, they only p-punished me f-for being so heartless t-to them.”

There was a bit of silence before I realized Ken hadn’t spoken again. I turn to look at him and saw a face filled with what looks like utter confusion and worry. Why isn’t he getting it? I try to explain myself a bit more. “They a-always b-beat me up and h-hurt me since we’re f-friends, b-because they c-care about m-my existence. Th-they were only angry w-when they thought I w-was denying our f-friendship.” For some reason though, it only made Ken’s face even more upset, it now looks confused, worried, concerned, sorry and hurt. What was I doing wrong? “I-I’m so sorry,” I apologised, “I k-know you p-probably hate me n-now, since I should h-have just c-complied with t-them in the first p-place, if they’re r-really my f-friends!” I shut my eyes, unable to face my own remorse. “No.” Ken had finally spoken up again. “W-wha…?” I open my eyes again to see him with a new expression, a much angrier stare than his previous one. I’m so scared that he’s angry at me now, his face looks so—“No, you shouldn’t have complied with them,” he proclaimed, “you don’t have anything to apologize for! They’re the ones who should be hated, not you!” “A-Ahh!?” Wh-what is he saying? How could he say that about my—“If they were really your friends, they wouldn’t hurt you at all! No one would hurt you, especially all the time, if they actually DID care about you!”

My friends…wouldn’t hurt me? But, but they were having so much fun! They liked being with me! How could they no—“He’s over here!” A voice came from outside of the classroom, and soon my friends(?) ran into the classroom with half a dozen police officers. “We didn’t know what to do when he chased her in here and broke the lock, so—” “It’s alright,” said a policeman who seemed to be wearing a sergeant’s uniform, “you’ve all done good.” He then turned to look at Ken, who seemed stressed out for some reason. “Alright buddy, the gig’s up! Get away from her now!” That’s when I realised it. The group had framed Ken for assaulting me! I tried to cry out that they were lying, but I couldn’t find the words for it. I’m so stressed and overcome by everything I can’t even make a peep! If I don’t do something, he’ll be arrested on false charges! I threw myself between the man and Ken, my arms out and my best attempt at a brave face visible. The sergeant and the other people in the room were all taken aback, and I heard a sigh of relief from behind me.

I turn to see Ken, calm and composed as he was when I first saw him earlier, as he gets up from the floor and says “Thank you, Mikan. I’ll try to take it from here.” He, he thanked me? No one had ever said “thank you” to me before! Soon, another face entered the room. Kyoko Kirigiri, the “Ultimate Detective” and school headmaster’s daughter had everyone’s attention. “I see I’ve made it just in time.” She then walked up to us as the sergeant voluntarily moved out of her way. Kyoko made eye contact with Ken and said, “Yuuto Kenta, am I correct? Or would you prefer to be called by your real name, Y/F/A/L/N?” “Err, no that’s alright,” said Ken, hesitating. “You can just call me Ken…” “With the…” Kyoko herself seemed to briefly hesitate, “…assault victim defending you like this Ken, do you have something you want to say?” “Y-yeah, or to be more precise, I have something I want to show.” After saying that, Ken shows something in his hand. It was the phone that girl had!

I look over to see her looking frantic, checking her pockets while the others flinched and broke out in a cold sweat. Ken seems to have noticed, as after he found the phone’s video app, he plays a recording to Kyoko and the police sergeant while smirking at the group, before turning his head towards me to give me a grin as well. This one however, when directed at me, seemed more casual and warm, as if it was his way of showing his care for me. Is it? I don’t know, but, seeing him like that, it makes me feel happy and safe as well, and I couldn’t stop myself from making a little smile back at him. Maybe, is this what a friend does? Protect each other and smile nicely at you? Was I wrong about friendship this whole time, all these years? It doesn’t matter now. I finally have a friend, a real one, someone who stood up for me and cared for me! At least, I hope he thinks of me as a friend now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mend my own heart by screwing over f**kers at the end, thankfully!


End file.
